A cataract is a condition in which an opacity develops in the crystalline lens of an eye or in the ocular envelope; the opacity may range from only slight to complete obstruction of the passage of light. The development of a cataract may lead initially to near-sightedness (myopia) in the affected eye (or eyes), and may progress to blindness if left untreated. Moreover, untreated cataracts can cause severe inflammation and/or glaucoma, and may even cause dislocation of the lens.
Senile cataracts are an age-related phenomenon, occurring most commonly in human subjects who are fifty years of age and older, but age-related cataracts also occur in the later lives of other animals, including species in other Families of Order Primates, as well as species from other Orders and Families of Class Mammalia, such as mice and rats (Order Rodentia), dogs (Family Carnidae), cats (Family Felidae), horses (Family Equidae), cows (Family Bovidae) and other higher mammals. Species from other non-mammalian Classes, such as birds (Class Aves), are also affected by senile cataracts.
Presently, cataract surgery is the only generally accepted treatment for cataracts (senile or otherwise), and for reasons that are self-evident, is performed almost exclusively only in humans. In cataract surgery, the affected lens is removed (excised) and replaced by a synthetic (generally plastic or silicone) intraocular lens. While this procedure typically provides human patients with at least 20/40 vision, it is not without its drawbacks.
After surgery, the patient's mobility is reduced and his/her activity level must be somewhat suppressed for some time. Moreover, after cataract extraction surgery, some patients require an additional procedure to remove cloudiness that may develop within the posterior capsule. Glaucoma, retinal detachment, endophthalmitis and bacterial infection are all possible complications that may result from, and follow upon, cataract extraction surgery. Furthermore, some human patients may not be candidates for cataract extraction surgery, due to either a pre-existing medical condition or an unwillingness to undergo an ocular surgery, and animals suffering from senile cataracts are rarely candidates for cataract extraction surgery, since unlike human subjects, in most cases the extracted lens would not be replaced with a synthetic lens implant, so the animal would remain virtually blind in any event, and also due to the relatively high cost of such veterinary procedures.
Accordingly, a method by which cataracts could be treated, in both humans and animals, by a non-surgical process would be a useful addition to ophthalmic medicine. Yet, despite much study of the cause and treatment of cataracts, a clinically useful, non-surgical treatment that retards the development of senile cataracts has thus far eluded researchers.
It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a clinically useful, non-surgical treatment, having virtually no side effects or complications, to reduce the symptoms, or to prevent the development, of senile cataracts in the lens of the eye of a human or animal.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a clinically useful, non-surgical treatment that will significantly retard the rate of development of senile cataracts, and thereby eliminate the need for many surgical cataract extractions.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a plant medicament having prophylactic and/or therapeutic properties with respect to the formation and/or progression of senile cataracts in the lens of the eye of a human or an animal.